Second generation Surface rumors are heating up.

Multiple sources are saying that Microsoft is currently working on another Surface tablet, one that will likely be smaller in size than the current models, and less expensive as well. If the rumors are true, then it means Microsoft received the memo that $500 tablets without an Apple logo are a tough sell. which is the same memo Google's hardware partners received long ago in reference to Android.

Are tablets a passing fad?

It seems like the whole world has gone crazy over tablets, and you can't go more than a week without some market research firm posting gloom and doom numbers on the desktop PC side due to consumer interest in mobile. Be that as it may, and despite falling prices for increasingly powerful tablets, not everyone believes the form factor will stand the test of time. Just the opposite, BlackBerry's Thorstein Heins -- the guy who runs the show -- believes tablets are a bad business model that will be lucky to last past 2018.

Nexus 10 successor said to pack an 11-inch display

Given Google's unwillingness to disclose sales figures pertaining to its Nexus tablets, we are left with no other choice but to rely on educated guesses by market analysts like Enders Analysis strategy consultant Benedict Evans, who recently estimated the total sales of Nexus 7 to be around 6.8 million units and that of the Nexus 10 around one-tenth as much. Evans’ Nexus 10 sales estimate in particular, if it bears any truth, is nothing to write home about. But, if a new rumor is to be believed, Nexus 10 manufacturer Samsung may be working on redeeming itself by launching the world’s first octa-core tablet.

There's no thinner 10.1-inch tablet, according to Sony.

Sony's wedge-shaped Xperia Tablet S didn't exactly take the Android tablet market by storm, and truth be told, we don't think the Xperia Tablet Z will either, though it's an interesting slate. The Xperia Tablet Z, which is now available to pre-order for $500 on Sony's website, is supposedly the world's thinnest 10.1-inch slate measuring just 0.27 inches thick and weighing barely more than a pound (1.09 pounds, to be precise).

If you are a PC vendor mulling a foray into the world of smartphones and media tables, there is perhaps no other platform more convenient than Android for this purpose. That is not to say that it is an option that readily appeals to everyone, especially those who give priority to control over convenience. But, as tempting as it might be, to have your own OS, it does not guarantee success and can be a very costly exercise. Just ask HP, which has taken almost two years to recover from the unmitigated disaster that was the TouchPad and re-enter the tablet market.

Free-to-play games proving popular on mobile devices.

Mobile gaming is already popular, but if new data from Juniper Research proves accurate, the number of game app downloads will steadily rise to more than 64.1 billion over the next four years. That would mark a greater than three-fold increase over the 21 billion game downloads that occurred in 2012, and it's thanks to a combination of free-to-play games, more capable devices, and a growing number of smartphones around the world.

DisplayMate Technologies president Dr. Raymond M. Soneira managed to sweet talk Samsung into giving him an early production unit of its upcoming Galaxy S4 smartphone to test and analyze for its Display Technology Shoot-Out article, the results of which are now live. In it, Dr. Soneira compares the Galaxy S4's upgraded 5-inch Full HD 1080p PenTile OLED display with that of that of its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, and Apple's iPhone 5. How did it fare?

Three out of 10 smartphones around the world are built by Samsung, DRAMeXchange says.

According to recent data revealed by DRAMeXchange, a division of global research firm TrendForce, smartphone shipments jumped 9.4 percent sequentially to 216.4 million units during the first quarter of 2013. Despite seasonality, smartphone shipments have climbed every quarter since the beginning of 2012, DRAMeXchange says, and no company should be happier than Samsung.

Android activations are on the rise.

Android co-founder Andy Rubin recently revealed at an economic summit in Tokyo that the world's most popular mobile operating system (OS) was originally conceived to power smart cameras. From those humble beginnings, Android has grown into something bigger, impacting the mobile market in ways that a simple camera platform would never have been able to. Fast forward to today and Google is seeing 1.5 million Android activations per day.

The new Harmony remotes are compatible with more than 225,000 home entertainment devices.

Logitech today expanded its universal remote control lineup by introducing the Logitech Harmony Ultimate and Logitech Harmony Smart Control, both of which feature the peripheral maker's Harmony Hub, a puck shaped device that turns RF signals from the remote into IR and Bluetooth commands for your home theater devices. In doing so, users needn't worry about having a clear of line of site to their components and can even hide their AV gear behind cabinet doors.